Daily Times

Pakistan lost the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday evening in an abysmal manner. Sarfraz Ahmad and his charges were unable to reach the target of 317 and were all out for 248, thus losing the second and final Test by 68 runs. Sri Lanka won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by 21 runs after Pakistan had failed in their run-chase of modest 136. Pakistan have had a disappointing start to life post Misbahul Haq and Younus Khan. The biggest problem in the series was Pakistan’s batsmen. No Pakistan batsman looked confident, they remained confused and under pressure through out the series. They lacked depth in their batting, didn’t play any long innings and didn’t capitalise on good starts. The Pakistan squad might comprised of talented ODI players but they clearly looked out of sort at the Test level. Asad Shafiq’s hundred was the only century for Pakistan in the series. What a shame!

Both Sarfraz and Asad had put on 173 and it seemed that the duo would turn the game around and level the series. But with the departure of Sarfraz, Pakistan lost their last four wickets for just 23 runs, and with it went Pakistan’s unbeaten, decade-long home streak. Though Sarfraz and Asad had begun confidently, the visitors needed only 5.5 overs to break that partnership, and about 90 minutes in all to wipe out the lower half of the Pakistan innings. Dilruwan Perera was Sri Lanka’s primary bowling figure on day five, as he had been throughout the innings, claiming two further wickets to complete a fourth career five-wicket haul. His vital wicket of Sarfraz broke the mighty resistance Pakistan’s sixth-wicket partnership had mounted. Like waves breaking upon a cliff, Sri Lanka’s bowlers kept coming at Pakistan, until eventually, the hosts were overwhelmed. That Asad progressed to an outstanding 11th Test hundred was almost forgotten in the final wash-up. He finished on 112 off 176 balls.

Serious cricket needs serious players who should be technically sound too, and could tackle spin and pace as well to combat the nature of tracks and conditions that change from session to session in five-day cricket. The Sri Lankans, who clearly dominated the Tests, must be smiling at the conclusion of this series for their professional approach which paid off in a huge way. With this loss, Pakistan have fallen to the seventh spot in the ICC Test Rankings — a stark difference from their position on top of the rankings last year.

Sri Lanka, led by Dinesh Chandimal, came to the UAE after suffering a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of India at home. Many were of the view that Pakistan would easily tame the men from Pearl Island, but the visitors outplayed the hosts to seal a sensational 2-0 triumph. After the battering Sri Lanka had received at home, this series victory must surely rank among the most surprising results of their Test history.

Not involving series’ against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, this is only the third time Sri Lanka have won two Tests in a series away from home. All those series wins have come against Pakistan. They had won 2-1 in 1995-1996 and 1999-2000. Since moving their home base to the UAE, Pakistan were the only team not to lose any Test series at home this decade. They played nine series’ in UAE since 2010, won five of them and drew four. Their unbeaten run began with a two-match drawn series against South Africa in November 2010 under Misbah’s captaincy. Before this series, Pakistan had lost only four matches, won 13 and drew seven in the UAE. The defeat is the first real bump in Sarfraz’s leadership, which hitherto has gone smoother than expected. He has won nine and lost two T20s that he has led in, and also boasts of victory in the ICC Champions Trophy. The series, no doubt, has brought Sarfraz down to earth.

Published in Daily Times, October 11^th 2017.